The board must adopt complaint-review rules for glaucoma treatment cases and handle them within six months, with physician review and possible expert-panel discipline recommendations.
For expiration of this section, see Subection (g). Sec. 351.2034. COMPLAINTS RESULTING FROM GLAUCOMA TREATMENT. (a) The board, in collaboration with the Texas Medical Board, shall adopt rules for investigating and reviewing complaints filed with the board regarding a therapeutic optometrist's treatment of a patient for glaucoma. The rules must ensure that: (1) a person who files a complaint has the opportunity to explain the allegations made in the complaint; (2) a complaint is not dismissed without appropriate consideration by the board; (3) a complaint is resolved within six months after the date the complaint is filed; (4) the board notifies the Texas Medical Board of the receipt and disposition of a complaint; and (5) a complaint is reviewed as provided by this section. (b) After a complaint regarding a therapeutic optometrist's treatment of a patient for glaucoma is filed with the board, the board shall select at least one physician licensed in this state who specializes in ophthalmology to: (1) review the complaint and determine if the therapeutic optometrist's treatment of the patient for glaucoma violated the standard of care applicable to a physician specializing in ophthalmology; and (2) submit to the board a written report on the physician's determination. (c) If the report under Subsection (b) states that the standard of care was violated, the board shall forward the complaint and report to an expert panel appointed by the board and the Texas Medical Board. The panel must be composed of an equal number of physicians who specialize in ophthalmology and therapeutic optometrists. Each member of the expert panel must be licensed to practice medicine or therapeutic optometry, as applicable, in this state. A physician who serves on an expert panel may also serve as an expert physician for the Texas Medical Board. (d) An expert panel selected to review a complaint under Subsection (c) shall: (1) review the physician's determination made under Subsection (b); and (2) recommend to the board whether the therapeutic optometrist should be subject to disciplinary action and, if so, whether the disciplinary action should include suspension or revocation of the therapeutic optometrist's certificate issued under Section 351.3581(a). (e) A person is not eligible to review a complaint under Subsection (b) or serve on an expert panel under Subsection (c) if: (1) the person or the person's spouse is an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a Texas trade association, as defined by Section 351.053, in the field of health care; or (2) the person is a member of the faculty or board of trustees of an optometry school or an institution of higher education with an affiliated school of optometry. (f) The board shall maintain and make publicly available online: (1) information regarding the number of complaints filed with the board regarding the treatment of patients for glaucoma by therapeutic optometrists and the disposition of those complaints; and (2) a searchable list of each therapeutic optometrist whose certificate under Section 351.3581(a) was suspended or revoked by the board. (g) This section expires September 1, 2027. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 523 (S.B. 993), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2021.